SAN DIEGO (CBS 8/CNS) - A three-alarm fire destroyed a large commercial warehouse in the Miramar area early Tuesday.
The non-injury blaze on in the 8500 block of Spectrum Lane off Camino Santa Fe was reported shortly before 2 a.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Huge flames shot up into the sky, leaving a fireball and smoke that could be seen for miles.
Arriving firefighters found the two-story 20,000-square-foot building fully engulfed and called for backup.
The roof collapsed and crews feared electrical transmission lines could fall on them so they attacked from outside.
"[We] made a very short attempt to save the far side of the structure that was not involved in the fire yet," said Batt. Chief John Fisher. "But unfortunately, we were unable to do that."
Around 100 firefighters from San Diego, Miramar and Poway had the fire knocked down in about 2 1/2 hours, SDFRD Capt. Joseph Amador said. The warehouse was said to contain items from a dietary supplement business that was in the process of moving in.
Fire investigators were sent to the scene, as was a structural engineer, Amador said.
Camino Santa Fe, which is used to access Spectrum Lane, was closed at Carroll Road, according to San Diego police. As of this report, all roads have reopened. No injuries have been reported.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department crews report that the estimated damage stands at $3 million - $1 million in content and inventory and $2 million in damage to the structure exterior.
The cause is undetermined, but a new dietary supplements company was just moving in and remodeling before the blaze. Investigators said they have no reason to believe suspicious activity was involved in the cause of the fire.
The warehouse is so massive that crews weren't letting up with the water on Tuesday. They expect to be working on it through Wednesday.
"The building is still definitely very very unsafe," said Fisher. "We're going to do some selective looking in the building now and try to extinguish any hotspots."